Tips To Buy And Sell A Home

If you are the buyer:

Know that the seller is rearranging their lives to show their house. This includes serious cleaning and hiding of every day items such as toiletries, dish drainers, and other items that you wouldn't think you need all the time, but you do. Not to mention, they might have young children on schedules, pets that need to be removed, etc. Sellers are well aware that this isn't always possible, but it should be attempted most of the time. When you do make an appointment, try to have a back up time just in case the seller isn't able to show that house at that time.

Try to view the house with an open mind and know your market. You might not get that granite countertop today, but you can always put one in later. Instead, look at the great property, the spacious living room, the great light, whatever. Try and look at the big picture and if it's not perfect to you today, think about whether it could be your dream home down the road.

Following that same idea, paint colors can always be changed. Seriously. If your biggest complaint about the house is the paint colors, that's a pretty good house.

Sellers understand that you might be looking at their house even if you're not totally ready to buy. If you're not buying any time soon, don't stay for an hour. Don't tell the realtor how much you love it and how you would put in offer in today…if only you didn't have to wait an entire year before you move. Don't put yourself in a position where the realtor has to kindly push you out the door. You've wasted a lot of people's time by doing that.

If you are the seller:

Keep the house clean and remove a lot of personal items. Not all people can go into a house with a critical eye and see the potential.A house can go from a possibility to a big fat no in a heartbeat. Don't make it too easy for that to happen.

If you have a pet, do your best to remove the evidence. That means no pet hair and no…pet. Whenever possible, make sure the pet is gone, or at least completely out of site/earshot when the house is being shown. You might be a dog person, but certainly not everyone is. (Kodiak's toys and bed are always put away and Kodiak is loaded up in the car with us whenever we show the house.)

If you're serious about selling, sometimes doing some small repairs can make a big difference because buyers will see it as one less thing they have to do themselves. (And it's one less reason for them to offer less money!). To go along with that, painting can do wonders as well. That magenta bedroom that you love so much? It can be a real deterrent for potential buyers. Painting over it in a neutral color gives the buyer a blank canvas in which to imagine themselves living in your home.

If at all possible, do not be home when there is a showing. We once saw a house and when we walked in, the tenants were sitting on the couch with their feet on the coffee table, eating food and watching TV. They grunted at us as we walked around. Now granted, it's not their house, they were just renters. But still. Not only is it awkward, (and it would certainly have been more awkward if it was the owner watching us instead), but just like crazy paint colors, it makes it hard to envision it as your home when other people are right there, occupying it.